Rental rebound comes amid stable WA market

While Perth’s median house price continued to decline throughout January, landlords enjoyed a strong start to 2019, according to figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA).

The data showed improvements to the median unit rent price, decreased listing volumes and increased leasing activity, with 5197 rental properties leased during January – an increase of 46 per cent compared to December.

“It’s pleasing to see more confirmation of a recovery in the January findings,” REIWA Deputy President Lisa Joyce said.

“Leasing volumes recorded the most notable improvement, enjoying a welcome rebound in tenant activity during the month – a trend we commonly observe this time of year.”

Median unit rent increased $5 to $330 per week and was up $10 compared to the same time last year, while listings for rent continued to decline, reducing to 6732 by the end of the month – a two per cent drop month on month and a 27 per cent decrease from January last year.

“If the rental market continues on its current upward trajectory, median rents should start to rise in the coming months, which will entice investors back to the market.”

Putting change in perspective

With Perth’s median house price falling by one per cent in January it would be easy to predict doom and gloom for the rest of 2019, but Ms Joyce said when you looked more closely at the data, values hadn’t changed drastically since the start of 2018.

“On an annual basis prices are quite stable, with the median house price only 0.4 per cent lower than it was in January 2018,” she said.